Deliva must constantly innovate and adjust to meet all standards, restrictions, safety regulations, and diets. What role do you play in it?
Karlien: "Since 2022, I have filled the role of quality manager. This means that, in addition to a coordinating role on our service, I am also constantly working on regulations and legislation. These are often subject to change, so they need to be monitored closely. Often, there are also nuance differences between different countries."
Since this year, you also have halal certification. What exactly does that mean?
Karlien: "That is a certification for preparing meals suitable for the Muslim community. They are bound by certain dietary rules, and are not allowed by their religion to eat all foods. All meals listed on the certificate meet the conditions prescribed by Islam. In May, we were able to successfully complete our first halal audit."
Do you have examples of such restrictions?
Karlien: "Well, actually there is more to it than you might expect. After all, everyone knows by now that alcohol and pork are considered haram (unclean). But bees, woodpeckers, human hair and blood are also on that list. I learnt these things during an engaging in-house training. This was given by the person who conducted the audit"
How have you ensured that a selection of dishes meets this?
Karlien: "Everything actually starts with the procurement policy: the raw materials must also be halal-approved. In the case of meat, the slaughter must have been done properly. But frozen vegetables should also get a statement from the supplier, as there is still such a thing as cross-contamination. Therefore, the product must not have been in contact with haram components. All the raw materials we want to use in halal meals should be listed in a big table. This must then be approved by the certification agency. Everything is checked."
Does that then also affect production?
Karlien: "Yes, because even then you have to avoid cross-contamination. So, you have to clean thoroughly every time you switch from non-halal to halal on the same line. The more products in our range meet the requirements, the more efficient we can work. Software-wise, we made a few adjustments, such as automatically indicating a switch. And the quality manual was also updated."
Have you immediately rolled out the halal range to all customers?
Karlien: "Initially, we had the full range of frozen meals for COA (reception centre in the Netherlands) included on our halal certificate. There was a lot of demand there. Now we are in the process of expanding to other shelters. The next step are the nurseries. We actually have two certificates: one for COA meals and another that indicates that our production site is suitable for the preparation of halal meals."
Does that add complexity to the business?
Karlien: "That's not too bad. The criteria closely parallel those for organic certification. Plenty of meals already have the same raw materials, so in principle they are also halal. However, they still have to go through the agency's approval cycle, so it is more of an administrative matter. Now we will look at where we want to go for that certification for each customer group. Over time, 80-90% of our offerings will be compliant."
How important is it for a food company like Deliva to go along with those restrictions?
Karlien: "I think it is becoming an increasingly important requirement for certain sectors. You have to go along with that as a food company, otherwise you won’t be able to be involved in certain tenders. If you cannot deliver what the customer asks for, they will move on to another partner. That makes sense."
